How to Work Flexibly, Without the Stress

In this week’s episode, Rachel and Dr Surina Chibber share what they have learnt from years of flexible working to help you become more successful and less stressed (and guilt ridden) in your approach to this style of work.Surina is a portfolio GP and co-founder of My Locum Manager which specifically helps GPs manage the tasks that come with flexible working more easily. There are a lot of reasons people choose to explore flexible working, from embarking on parenthood to career diversification. Surina reminds us flexible working can be great, but will increase stress as a result if you’re not prepared. Working across a number of roles may require you to take on additional tasks such as marketing, tax returns, administration or professional training. Where your working week may start to overwhelm you, it can be really useful to write a ‘to-be’ list instead of a ‘to-do’ list to check that what you’re doing corresponds with your life desires and values.Surina reminds us to be in the moment instead of focusing on “I’ll be happy when…”Sometimes your time spent doing what you love creates a return on investment that you didn’t expect. Remember, the journey is the reward.By looking at what it is you want to achieve from flexible working, you can plan your time and resources to work towards this successfully and happily. One of the best things both Rachel and Surina advocate is getting a coach or mentor (or several!) to learn from and guide you to success.Their top tips are:Surina:Understand what you enjoy.Set boundaries over what is your work time and what your working week looks like.Surround yourself with people who are doing different things in their space, learn from them.Rachel:Get the help that you need and pay for it if neccesary!Ditch the guilt.Do fewer things but better.Useful Tools and Resources:Sign up here to receive a link to the CPD form downloads for each podcast which you can use for reflection and to submit for your appraisal. Download Surina's popular e-book from MyLocumManager for locum GPs hereYou can also join the Shapes Collective Facebook group where we chat about the hot topics and regularly post interesting articles24 hour support for NHS staff: Call 0300 131 7000 between 7am and 11pm or text FRONTLINE to 85258 24/7.BMA Wellbeing Service The NHS Practitioner Health Programme Podcast Links:Contact Rachel LinkedIn @Dr-Rachel-lMorris Twitter @DrRachelMorrisrachel@wildmonday.co.ukwww.shapestoolkit.comMy Locum Manager a powerful platform for GPs who work flexibly. Whether you are working as a locum GP or creating a portfolio career, MLM will help you schedule all upcoming work direct to your smart phone calendar, easily invoice and pension and simplify all your tax return. Being a member of My Locum Manager provides you with...

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The podcast for GPs, hospital doctors and other professionals in high-stakes, high-stress jobs who want to thrive rather than just survive. You studied for years, you’re really good at what you do but you’ve noticed that you’re starting to feel overwhelmed, overworked and under-resourced. You may be comparing yourself to a frog in boiling water - the heat has built up so slowly that you haven’t noticed the extra-long days becoming the norm. You may feel on the edge and trapped in the very job that you’ve spent years working towards. Here’s the problem, frogs only have two choices; stay and be boiled alive, or jump out of the pan. The good news is that you are not a frog. You have many more choices than you think you do. You don’t have to quit, and nor should stress and burnout be inevitable. It is possible to be master of your own destiny, to craft your work life and career so that you can thrive even in the most difficult of situations. There are simple changes you can make which will make a huge difference to your stress levels and help you enjoy life again. Your host is Dr Rachel Morris, GP turned Executive Coach and Specialist in Resilience at Work who knows what it’s like to feel like an exhausted frog. In the podcast, she’ll be talking to friends, colleagues and experts all who have an interesting take on resilience for clever people in high-stakes, high-stress jobs so that together you can take back control to beat stress and burnout, survive and thrive.